If the bill becomes law, more than 35,000 educators would see another $1,000 in pay, according to a Senate news release.

“Over the past eight years, we have targeted the investment of tax dollars into the classroom,” Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said. “This bill spends about $51 million on teachers and other personnel who help educate Mississippi children. With this law, a teacher who worked in the classroom in 2012 will make almost $8,000 more per year by 2020.”

Senate Bill 2770, by Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, will now head to the House for consideration.

The average annual salary for Mississippi teachers is $44,925, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

Reeves said in September 2018 that he wanted to direct an estimated $50 million in Medicaid program savings into Mississippi classrooms, according to the release.